August

August

Lawn

If you see grub damage, apply a grub killer. Merit and Mach 2 are grub preventers and many not be effective on late in-star grubs. The grub killer must be watered in within 24 hours or effective-ness drops. It's beginning to look a lot like crabgrass. Did you treat in early April? If not remember to do so next spring! It is fighting a losing battle now to try to control pesky crabgrass and foxtail. Water deeply (best time in early morning) and less often for deep roots and a healthy lawn. Raise mower blade to 3 inches now.

Landscape

Time to stop fertilizing roses after August 1. They need to slow down growth and harden off for winter. Do not trim Viburnum, White Blooming Spirea, Mockorange, Forsythia, Dogwood, Ninebark, or Lilac after July 4 or you will lose the blooms for next spring. This time of year you must remember to water! This is the month you will love your drip irrigation system that saves time & precious water.

Remember to stop shearing mums, russian sage, sedum, and asters now!

Time to trim back Salvia; by deadheading the blooms to the top of the green foliage it will re-bloom in early fall! Simply sheer back the dried blooms.

Fertilize strawberries beds now! This is the best time since they are producing the buds for next year's fruit.

Water! If rainfall is slight, let a slow-running hose soak trees and shrubs. Do not water at night; wet and cool temperatures invite fungus and bacterial diseases. Keep gardens mulched with a 2-4 inch layer.

Fertilize with acidic fertilizer one more time: Azaelas, Rhododendrons, Holly, Hydrangeas.

MAKE COMPOST: All you need are three ingredients: 1) green stuff (grass clippings, veggie skins & tops you would normally throw away); 2) brown stuff (leaves, soil, dead foliage); and 3) water. As you pull out annuals and early vegetables, put them on the compost pile. Keep the pile moist as a wrung-out sponge, and turn often. Cover with a light sprinkling of soil to curb odor and add microscopic organisms and worms to the pile that will help in the decay process. Add the dark black decayed organic matter to your flower beds. Make 3 compost bins and actively use one for 4 months and then quit and let it set (continue to turn & wet but don't add anything new). Start on the 2nd bin and use for 4 months, then use the 3rd bin for 4 months. By this time the first bin is ready to use and put on the garden or flower beds. Clean out the 1st bin and start over!

Hint: Chop materials in small pieces when adding to the compost pile. They will deteriorate faster and your compost will not be so "chunky".

Take photos of your garden now at its peak! Start a garden journal to track successes and failure.

Plant a fall garden now: beets, beans, carrots, radishes, and spinach. Plant hardy pansies, marigolds, mums, and ornamental cabbage for fall color!

 

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